This invention relates to the production of deposited film parts at elevated temperatures and high vacuum. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for supporting and moving substrates in production quantities in vacuum deposition environments.
A principle concern in high vacuum, elevated temperature, thick or thin film deposition systems, such as sputter deposition systems, is to minimize the source of particles within deposition chambers of the system. Such particles can contaminate the deposition process itself. Typically, a major source of particles results from actuation or frictional engagement of metal parts.
Some deposited-film parts, such as disc memory media, require selectively uniform film deposition on both sides of a substrate. Various prior mechanical devices requiring complex manipulators for handling such substrates for two sided depositions are expensive and are difficult to maintain. Moreover, such devices are frequently not adaptive to different size substrates which a manufacturer may wish to process.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method which overcomes these and other disadvantages of prior substrate supporting devices.